Hayleys Agriculture renews commitment to sustainability

From left: Hayleys Agriculture Manager Commercial Ajitha Y. Perera, Hayleys Agriculture Strategic Bus Development Head Samudra Rajapakshe, Hayleys Agriculture Managing Director M. Rizvi Zaheed, Carbon Consulting Company Sustainable Development and Strategy Manager Glenn Sonntag, Carbon Consulting Company CEO Sanith De. S. Wijeyeratne and Carbon Consulting Company Associate Sustainability Solutions Shermila Weragoda 

Leading condiment food products exporter and the country’s first such manufacturer to obtain CarbonConscious and WaterConscious certifications for its operations, HJS Condiments Ltd – part of the Hayleys group, recently renewed the said certifications for a second consecutive year. The certifications were awarded by The Carbon Consulting Company (CCC) following the conduct of independent audits.

CarbonConscious and WaterConscious are part of the proprietary Conscious range of certification programmes developed by CCC following international standards and protocols for the measurement, management and mitigation/enhancement of environmental sustainability focus areas such as carbon, water, waste and biodiversity. 

As per the guarantee given by HJS Condiments to be a more sustainable business entity, it has signed up for a three-year programme to frequently measure, manage and mitigate its environmental footprint. In the past year, the company has successfully set up a customised framework, which includes separate carbon and water management plans and an in-house ‘Sustainability Team’ who are responsible for keeping consumption and wastage amounts in check at reduced levels. 

Hayleys Agriculture Managing Director Rizvi Zaheed said that whilst the company seeks to grow its business portfolio in food and agriculture, this would be done in a completely sustainable manner in keeping with global 
best practices.

Upon receiving the certifications, HJS Condiments Director/CEO Ananda Pathirage said,  “We are happy with our progress so far under this three-year programme. In the past year alone, through mitigation opportunities identified from the audits, we have managed to achieve a reduction in Scope 1 emissions of up to 10 percent and we plan to reduce our carbon and water footprints to a greater extent in the coming years that would no doubt benefit the triple bottom line.” 

Speaking on the occasion, CCC CEO Sanith de S. Wijeyeratne said, “Climate change is the single biggest threat facing our planet. In Sri Lanka we are noticing the effects of global warming in the form of adverse weather, which is wreaking havoc on our agricultural industry. In this regard, I’m happy to report that leading industry players like HJS Condiments are taking a stand about their duty towards environmental sustainability. Let us hope that other organisations will take this to heart and follow in the path of companies like HJS, as we all strive to reduce our environmental footprint on Earth.”